Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

This unfortunate case involves a 28 year-old man who was rear-ended by a tractor trailer. The force of the collision threw his vehicle into the path of an oncoming cement truck, which slammed into the victim’s vehicle. The young man died from his injuries at the scene.

After the collision, the driver of the rear-ending truck tested positive for high levels of cocaine and marijuana. The man’s family brought suit in Illinois, because the truck company was negligent for allowing the driver behind the wheel when he was clearly unfit to drive.

This case shows the appalling lengths some truck companies will go to avoid compensating victims. After the victim’s family filed suit in Illinois, the truck company stated under oath that it had only $1 million in insurance available, an obvious attempt to force a low settlement. The family’s attorney, suspecting this wasn’t true, had to file another lawsuit in Oklahoma, where the tractor-trailer was registered. In Oklahoma, defendants like the trucking company can be forced to confirm how much insurance coverage they have. It turned out that the trucking company had far more insurance coverage than they had admitted. There was actually $50,000,000 of insurance available.

At trial, the trucking company fought to keep the jury from hearing evidence of its driver’s drug use, but the judge allowed the evidence to be heard. At the end of the trial, the jury found the rear-ending driver and trucking company were 100% responsible for the collision. The jury awarded the victim’s family $18.2 million for the deceased man's lost future earnings and the loss of the his companionship. The jury awarded an additional $1 million for the man’s suffering before he died at the scene of the wreck.

Hopefully, this will convince the at-fault trucking company to think twice next time before they put a dangerous trucker out on our roads.

Continue reading "Truck Accident Wrongful Death Case Results in $19.2 Million Damages Verdict" »

A young Army officer traveling to his first duty station in Texas struck a tractor trailer that had stopped in the left lane of Interstate 30 near Texarkana in March, 2002. The twenty-three year old lieutenant died from his injuries. The drivers of the truck, a husband-wife team from the Waco, Texas area, had attempted to repair the brakes on their vehicle two hours before the collision by using electrical tape and a toothpick to stop a leak in a high-pressure hydraulic line. When the drivers notified the trucking company of this childish repair, instead of sending a tow truck, the company sent an email congratulating them on their resourcefulness. Of course, the “repair” quickly failed, leaving the tractor-trailer stranded in the left, high speed, lane.
The trucking company and drivers defended in court by blaming the young lieutenant. The defendants said he was at least 60% at fault (if he was more than 50% at fault, he could not recover anything). Further, the trucking company said this was an unusual situation that didn’t reflect its normally safety-oriented practices.

The jury did find that the lieutenant was negligent, but found that his negligence was only 10% of the cause of his injuries. The jury found the driver and the company equally responsible for the remaining 90%. The jury awarded his parents $1,000,000 each for intangible losses, including mental anguish and lost companionship. The jury awarded the soldier’s estate $7,000 in actual damages for burial costs and punitive damages of $15,000,000 against the company and $500,000 against the driver.

Before the verdict, the two sides had entered into a so-called "high-low agreement" to resolve the case. This agreement guaranteed that the soldier’s family would recover between $750,000 and $1,250,000. If the jury had come back with a verdict below $750,000, the family would still recover the minimum $750,000. If the jury awarded more than $1,250,000, the family could not recover the excess. A jury award in between would be recovered at the amount the jury set. The family therefore actually recovered $1.25 million, because of their contractual agreement with the defendants.

With a high-low agreement, victims are guaranteed a recovery, but the defendants are not exposed to high damages. Each side gains something and the jury still performs its function of determining how much the victim receives, particularly in the middle range. Since Texas law caps punitive damages at $400,000, most of Lt. Giuliano’s damages could never have been collected. A high low agreement spared both parties the costs and uncertainties of appealing on the issue of excessive verdict.

Continue reading "Texas Jury Delivers $17.5 Million Verdict After the Death of an Army Officer Caused by Trucking Company Negligence" »

Michael Clarkin, a worker at the South Carolina Ports Authority in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina suffered permanent, debilitating injuries in November, 2004. Mr. Clarkin was a clerk, whose job involved tracking container shipments. The facility where he worked offloads cargo ships.

The incident occurred when a toplifter (similar to a forklift) failed and a cargo container dropped nearly fifty feet and bounced onto the SUV Mr. Markin was sitting in. Mr. Markin was about 40 feet away from the loading area when the metal cargo container broke loose. Rescue workers extricated him from the vehicle and took him to the Medical University of South Carolina. Mr. Markin suffered injuries to his legs and back, as well as neurological injuries that have resulted in profound changes in his personality and ability to process thoughts.

The settlement involved three defendants: Kalmar Industries, which manufactured the lifter, Gregory Poole Equipment Company, which sold the lifter, and the State Ports Authority. Liability centered on a design defect in the lifting equipment. The State Ports Authority was aware of problems with the lifter-it had been twice been reported for problems and twice cleared for service the day before the incident. The Port Authority’s liability was limited to $140,000, however. The cost of long-term care and high salaries in the longshoreman profession explain the amount of the settlement.

Continue reading "$13.2 Million Settlement for Worker in Charleston, South Carolina" »